Drugs & Self-Esteem

Self-esteem is our personal self-image, our self-respect, our self-worth. It is a measure of how we “see” and “feel about” ourselves. Some people have high self-esteem, meaning they are self-confident and feel good about them. Other people have low self-esteem, meaning they lack self-confidence and feel less than good about themselves.

Overview

Self-esteem is our personal self-image, our self-respect, our self-worth. It is a measure of how we “see” and “feel about” ourselves. Some people have high self-esteem, meaning they are self-confident and feel good about them. Other people have low self-esteem, meaning they lack self-confidence and feel less than good about themselves. Much of how we handle life, what we do and become, depends upon our self-esteem.

Probably more than any other age group, teenagers experience feelings of low self-esteem and inadequacy. As they struggle to achieve an identity, they often doubt their ability to master life’s pressures and hardships. Through experimenting with drugs, some teens learn that they can escape their negative feelings, if only temporarily.

This basic guide contains "need to know" information about the effect of alcohol and other drugs on the self-esteem of the user and where to get help and further information.